Trail of stolen goods leads police to suspect in wheelchair

​St. Paul police followed a trail of clues to an alleged thief's door on Friday night following a burglary at the Grand Hand Gallery on Grand Avenue, and didn't buy his alibi.

When they got inside John Howard Schlesky's apartment on Grand Avenue, they say they found him sitting in a wheelchair, surrounded by stolen goods, some with the store's tags still attached.

Police found Schlesky after witnesses reported a man fleeing on foot down Grand Avenue. Police dogs led officers to the man's apartment building, where they found clothes and hangers from the gallery dropped on the ground by the back door, the Pioneer Press reported.

Schlesky, in a wheelchair in a building that has no wheelchair access, told police he'd just had knee surgery. He was arrested.